Linda Darling-Hammond is a strong advocate for school reform including quality teaching and the effects the individual teacher has on their students. In her report ‘Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence’ she makes the comment “States interested in improving student achievement may be well-advised to attend, at least in part, to the preparation and qualifications of the teachers they hire and retain in the profession… student learning should be enhanced by the efforts of teachers who are more knowledgeable in their field and are skillful at teaching it to others.” (Darling-Hammond, 2000, p.32) Click here to read her full report
Hattie's research indicates that when we investigate all of the variables that potentially make a difference to the level of student achievement – the students, the home, schools, principals, peers and teachers – the greatest source of variance that can make the difference is the teacher. He states that ‘we need to ensure that this greatest influence is optimised to have powerful and sensationally positive effects on the learner.' According to Hattie the three areas that separate what he terms ‘experienced teachers’ from ‘expert teachers’ are challenge, deep representation, and monitoring and feedback.
According to Hattie the three areas that separate what he terms ‘experienced teachers’ from ‘expert teachers’ are challenge, deep representation, and monitoring and feedback.
Read more of his findings here